Stimulators – Loud Fast Rules!

A great document of this old New York punk band’s only full-length recording. Mandatory early punk rock.
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Stimulators – Loud Fast Rules! CD
ROIR

The Stimulators were an early punk rock back from New York City who became most know for their having a young Harley Flanagan of Cro-Mags fame as their drummer when he was only 11 years old. That little kid was into punk rock since he was in grade school and people pay hefty sums of cash for the band’s only vinyl output which consisted of two 7″ singles. Aside from those singles, the only other thing they had released before disbanding was a full-length live cassette on ROIR called Loud Fast Rules!. This cassette has finally been reissued on much better formats nearly thirty years after it was recorded.

This album was recorded live in Raleigh, NC way back on August 31st, 1981! The band had pretty much hit their peak on this little tour they went on which this was one of the stops on. The band was kind of a bridge between ’70s styled punk and early hardcore. The songs, as their title says, were loud and fast. They had a quirky arty punk vibe that they combined with loud, abrasive guitars ala early Damned and a singer who at times sounds a little like Kevin Seconds, and has a good melodic sound to his voice. There’s a bit of sloppiness to the band too which gives them a charm found in a lot of early youthful punk rock bands.

This live show was captured professionally so the sound quality is pretty good on it, especially considering its age and meager budget on which it was created. The sound can be a little thin at times but it stands as a good document for a band that really has no other recorded works available. The performance itself was solid and you can even hear young Harley call out to the crowd between songs informing them what they are about to play. This album is a nice little snapshot of a moment in time that is long since past and it is fortunate that we have it for the archives now on something that doesn’t deteriorate with each listen. If you are an old punk fan, this is a pretty essential recording for your personal punk archive. Kudos ROIR on a job well done.